Banc Funds Co. LLC Cuts Holdings in Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST)

Banc Funds Co. LLC lessened its position in shares of Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFST - Free Report) by 7.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 370,243 shares of the bank's stock after selling 31,000 shares during the period. Southern First Bancshares accounts for 1.4% of Banc Funds Co. LLC's holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest holding. Banc Funds Co. LLC owned about 4.54% of Southern First Bancshares worth $12,618,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of SFST. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 37.9% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 2,066 shares of the bank's stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Southern First Bancshares during the third quarter worth $101,000. Princeton Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Southern First Bancshares during the third quarter worth $204,000. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Southern First Bancshares by 19.3% during the second quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,983 shares of the bank's stock worth $292,000 after buying an additional 1,614 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Long Focus Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Southern First Bancshares during the second quarter worth $292,000. Institutional investors own 75.00% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Leighton M. Cubbage sold 1,744 shares of Southern First Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.18, for a total transaction of $54,377.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,818 shares in the company, valued at $1,833,945.24. This trade represents a 2.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Julie Ann Fairchild sold 1,000 shares of Southern First Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.23, for a total transaction of $45,230.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,840 shares of the company's stock, valued at $264,143.20. This represents a 14.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,549 shares of company stock worth $223,348. 7.62% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Southern First Bancshares Trading Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ SFST traded down $0.59 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $44.10. 11,171 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 19,637. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $359.86 million, a P/E ratio of 25.83 and a beta of 0.79. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.25. Southern First Bancshares, Inc. has a one year low of $24.98 and a one year high of $45.90.

Southern First Bancshares (NASDAQ:SFST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $54.35 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.57 million. Southern First Bancshares had a net margin of 6.67% and a return on equity of 4.42%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.51 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Southern First Bancshares, Inc. will post 1.39 EPS for the current year.

About Southern First Bancshares

Southern First Bancshares, Inc operates as the bank holding company for Southern First Bank that provides commercial, consumer, and mortgage loans to the general public in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia. The company accepts various deposit products that include checking accounts, commercial checking accounts, and savings accounts, as well as other time deposits, including daily money market accounts and long-term certificates of deposit.